ISTANBUL

The death toll from the novel coronavirus outbreak in Iran rose to 724, state TV reported on Sunday.

Authorities said 113 people died in the last 24 hours, while 1,209 new cases emerged, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 13,938, Iran's state TV quoted Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour as saying.

A total of 4,590 people have been discharged from hospitals after recovering from the virus, Jahanpour added.

The first case of the coronavirus in the country was confirmed in Qom province on Feb. 19.

Turkey, which has only six confirmed cases of coronavirus, closed its land borders and suspended air travel to Iran last month.

Besides China, Italy and South Korea, Iran is among the worst-affected countries since the outbreak of the disease last December.

As part of its efforts to contain the virus, Tehran has taken several measures, including the closure of all schools and higher learning institutions, calling off sports events and banning government officials from leaving the country.

After emerging in Wuhan, China last December, the virus known as COVID-19 has spread to at least 141 countries and territories.

The global death toll from the virus has surpassed 5,700 with more than 152,000 cases confirmed worldwide, according to the World Health Organization, which has declared the outbreak a pandemic.

* Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev in Ankara.